


Family Celebration With Icing

by Sarek and Amanda Archive Maintainer (Selek), TSia



Category: Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Saidicam
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-21
Updated: 2013-03-21
Packaged: 2017-12-06 01:15:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/729993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Selek/pseuds/Sarek%20and%20Amanda%20Archive%20Maintainer, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TSia/pseuds/TSia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sarek's family is headed on spiritual vacation, but the trip becomes more difficult than they intended.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Family Celebration With Icing

Title: Family Celebration With Icing  
Authors: T'Sia and Saidicam29  
Codes: Sa, Am, Sp  
Rating: G

Summary: Sarek's family is headed on spiritual vacation, but the trip becomes more difficult than they intended.

Disclaimer: Paramount . Star Trek…not me…no money or infringement intended… you know the rest.

 

Family Celebration With Icing

"Did you pack the cooling unit for Spock's vitamins?" Amanda asked while Sarek came down the stairs, a travel bag in each hand.

"Yes, Amanda. You have asked me this four times thus far today. It is packed," he answered, maneuvering around her form in the middle of the hallway.

"Okay," Amanda just murmured absently-minded while she crossed out further items from her mental list. She looked up briefly, "Spock? Spock?" she repeated until the dark head of her two-year-old son turned in her direction. "Don't play horse with I'Chaya anymore, you hear? We want to keep the clothes clean."

Spock nodded and waited beside the sehlat until he saw his mother walk out the front door then he climbed on the huge beast's back again and the sehlat obediently carried him on another round through the living room. Meanwhile, Amanda came to stand behind Sarek who was bent over the back cargo space of the family flitter.

Sarek picked up the last bag, gently sliding it into the space he had reserved through careful planning and strategic packing. He straightened, examining his work, his hands absently rubbing together satisfactorily.

Amanda suppressed a smirk, shaking her head at his obsessive behaviors. "Are we all set?"

"I believe so," Sarek answered, moving towards the front of the flitter. "I just need to add some lubricant to the engine."

"Okay, I'll get I'Chaya and Spock then." Amanda spun around, then, remembering Spock's blanket which she still held in her hands, turned back to toss it into the flitter then left to get her son. They returned, the sehlat bounding ahead of them, eager to go on a rare flitter ride.

"Itchy," Spock whined and extended a hand for his pet when Sarek led the sehlat to the cage set in the back of the family flitter; but Amanda took her son's hand and came to stand beside the flitter to ready the child seat in the back seat. "No, honey, I'Chaya gets his own place," she said gently and then fussed about the security straps that had tied themselves into a knot.

"Amanda," Sarek called for his wife's attention, when he saw her look over the back of the seat and I'Chaya's cage, he held up the blanket. "You already packed a blanket for Spock."

"But that's his wobby."

Sarek suppressed an impatient sigh at her use of babble. "He already has a blanket packed," he reiterated.

"I know, Sarek," Amanda stressed slowly, getting frustrated that the seat straps would not untangle, "but that's his special blanket. He might want it while we're away."

"Mommy," Spock whined, tugging at Amanda's robes.

"One second, Spock. Then take out the other blanket ... he loves that one."

"Sa-sa!" Spock implored urgently, neither parent noticing the way he stepped from one foot to the other, his knees pressing together tightly.

"Spock, your mother and I are speaking right now," Sarek's eyes never left his wife. "The other one is already packed."

"Aha!" Amanda cried out triumphantly, finally getting the straps sorted out. She bent down to pick up Spock. "Look, Sarek…" Amanda stopped, noticing a distinct wetness upon her arm where she cradled Spock against her. She looked accusingly at her son, who met her gaze directly. "Oh, Spock," she said disappointingly.

The toddler sniffed at her brazenly. "I vazhau."

"You sure did," Amanda agreed setting him down while she checked her own robes for wet spots. "Come on, let's get you changed." She took Spock's hand and headed towards the door. "And Sarek," she called over her shoulder, "it's just a blanket. Leave it there."

~~*~~

"Whew," Amanda breathed once they all sat in the flitter; luggage all packed, Spock freshly clothed and the sehlat in the cage. "I think we are ready to leave." She beamed at Sarek. "It's about time or your parents will wonder why we are late."

"Indeed," Sarek confirmed and Amanda thought to see a hint of relief in his expression. She chuckled inwardly at how bravely he endured the chaos he was exposed to this morning. She watched as he took out the key card and mentally went through the house. Had she closed all windows? Was the stove out? She hated to think what could happen if the kitchen caught fire.

Sarek sighed beside her. "Yes, aduna. The windows are closed, the stove is cold. You checked three times."

Amanda smiled in slight exasperation. There seemed to be no thought of hers he did not know about.

"Yes, because you are projecting constantly. This is why we should practice... "

"Yes, Sarek, I know! Could we just leave now? We'll be late," Amanda said, interrupting him.

"Where Itchy?" a little voice shouted suddenly from behind them.

Amanda glanced back at her son. "In his cage."

"Where?"

"Behind you, Spock." Amanda faced forward, leaning her head back against the seat wearily.

"Where?" he asked again, after a slight pause.

Amanda took a deep breath, slowly releasing it to calm her nerves. "Spock, trust me, he's back there. You just can't see him from where you are."

There was another slight pause, then she heard Spock wiggling in his seat. "Itchy?" he called out. "Iiittcchhyy!" The sehlat gave a low grumble in answer. "Oh, ok," Spock said happily, turning back in his seat to play with the toys in the bag beside him. "He there, Mommy."

"Great," Amanda mumbled, looking over at Sarek to see what was taking so long. Sarek expression was serious, his brow creased in concentration as he repeatedly flipped the switches on the consol. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"I do not know," Sarek said and pulled a lever below the console.

Amanda rolled her eyes. "Perfect," she mumbled when Sarek got out and opened the hood. About ten minutes later Amanda's patience finally broke and she got out of the flitter to stand beside Sarek. She looked over his shoulder while he bent over the engine. "Found anything?" she asked and ignored the slightly annoyed glance he gave her over his shoulder.

"No," he said pointedly when she still looked at him with questioning eyes.

Amanda sighed and retreated to give Spock some kasa juice he whiningly requested from the backseat. She returned to her seat and drummed her fingers on the console for another five minutes. She was just about to get out again when Sarek closed the hood. Her initial happy expression changed into a worried one when she saw his dismayed face.

"I cannot repair it right now," he said.

"Well, there are two options then," Amanda said, counting them off on her fingers, "first, we rent a flitter; or second, we take yours."

Sarek glanced from his simmering red flitter to the occupants of the family vehicle. He shook his head. "We cannot take my flitter," he pondered the thought for a bit. "We must reach my parent's estate in time to accompany them on the pilgrimage or they will leave without us."

"We could go tomorrow, the pilgrimage will be every day for about a week," Amanda reminded him.

Sarek nodded, "Yes, but we planned to go together with the family. It is tradition. If we rent a flitter, we will be too late to do so." He glanced back at his prized flitter, built with his very own hands when he was a student, and kept in pristine condition ever since. He rarely ever drove it; Amanda had only ridden in it twice, and Spock and I'Chaya…never. He glanced back at his family, swallowing hard against his dismay. "So there remains only one option," he concluded and looked at his wife.

"But," Amanda held up her finger emphasis. "How do you possibly expect to fit all of this," a wave of her arm encompassed the van's contents, "in that?" Sarek followed her finger to his little two door flitter.

Sarek nodded, understanding her dilemma. "We will have no choice but to take only the essentials."

"Everything here is essential!"

"It--" Sarek stopped, giving his wife an exasperated glance. "I have one bag, you have one bag, the rest of that," he gestured with a nod of his head, "is Spock's. I hardly think a two year old child requires this much equipment for a one week stay at his grandparents'. I'Chaya and Spock will have to squeeze into the rear seat, which means there is only the cargo section for our belongings. I can only fit three bags in there, Amanda. Either you select his things, or I shall."

Sarek moved to the rear of the family flitter and began unpacking its contents. He deftly unloaded their things onto the garage floor, taking his and Amanda's bags to place in the small flitter. As Amanda poured through Spock's things, stuffing as much as she could into the one bag she was allotted, Sarek took I'Chaya out of his cage and placed him in the flitter, followed by Spock. When he turned back around, his wife stood next to him, one overly stuffed bag in hand, and one toy bag and wooby by her feet. "Amanda," Sarek said warningly.

"I'll fit it in, just put this one in the back." As he did that, she worked on stuffing the toy bag on the floor between Spock's legs, placing his blanket across his lap. "Did you grab his cooler?" she called back to Sarek, who was taking a last inventory of the things they were leaving behind. A bump against her behind made Amanda turn back.

"You will have to hold this on your lap," Sarek told her, handing the cooler unit over.

"Okay," Amanda took the unit, placing it atop the flitter while she finished settling Spock and his things inside.

Sarek got into the driver's seat and ran a quick maintenance check of the flitter's engine. The flitter roared to life, lifting off the floor slightly as the antigrav-unit kicked in, preparing for flight. Sarek buckled up, giving his wife an impatient look. "Ready?"

"Yes," Amanda quickly answered, flipping her seat back and climbing in.

The garage door opened, and the flitter glided smoothly out, hovering several inches above the ground as was usual inside city boundaries. The vehicle picked up speed as Sarek turned onto the roadway.

Suddenly feeling a bit queasy Amanda exhaled a bit forcefully. "Finally on the way," she said and leaned back. She glanced over at Sarek and he gave a confirming nod, obviously as relieved as she felt.

"Are you feeling well, aduna?" he asked noticing how she briefly rubbed her stomach.

"Just a bit queasy from the stress," she answered and gave him an encouraging smile.

Sarek glanced quickly at the road and saw the traffic light coming; however, he returned his gaze to Amanda while he pushed the brakes to make sure she was all right. She smiled and winked at him. The smile vanished, however, when a sliding noise could be heard from the roof as the flitter slowed.

Both their gazes wandered to the windshield and they watched the cooling unit Amanda had wanted to pack earlier slide from the roof and down the windshield then further onto the hood in slow motion. By the time the flitter came to a complete stop at the traffic light, the unit had reached the end of the hood and balanced on the edge for about a second before it fell off and landed with a noticeable clank on the road.

Amanda looked at Sarek and saw how first his gaze and then his head slowly turned in her direction. Unable to meet his almost exasperated expression she giggled helplessly. "I'm sorry. I forgot it... I..." She sobered. "I'll just get it," she said and got out of the flitter.

From outside she could see how Sarek stuck his head out of the window and glanced down the hood to see if his precious flitter had suffered a scratch. Some pedestrians stopped and looked over to them, curious what was going on. Immediately she saw Sarek's head disappearing back inside the vehicle to the shelter of the flitter's tinted windows. 'This must be embarrassing to him,' Amanda thought, but she felt no guilt.

"Fitter ouch?" a small voice asked when Amanda returned inside the flitter

Amanda suppressed a grin when she turned back to him. "No, the flitter is fine, baby." 'It's just daddy's pride that's hurt,' she thought to Sarek, not able to suppress her mockery and watched how he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. The traffic light switched to green and the flitter sped forward.

 

Approximately thirty minutes later, they reached the city limits. Sarek immediately increased the flitter's speed and altitude as they started across the desert. For the third time that Amanda counted, Sarek lowered his window a little more. "I'Chaya, sit!" he ordered the sehlat, who was sitting directly behind him.

Amanda glanced in the back. "He is sitting," she giggled as Sarek wiped the back of his neck, his hand coming away wet from the sehlat's excited drool as he struggled to access the window. Giving in, Sarek lowered his window completely, sliding his seat uncomfortably forward so the sehlat could stick his head out. He noticed the bemused expression on Amanda's face. "Cramped?" she asked him.

"Yes, but it is preferable to him breathing on my neck for the next three hours."

She laughed again, leaning her head against the seat and watching the vast desert view pass before her eyes.

A sudden wave of nausea swept over her, and Amanda turned her head to the front, staring as far into the distance as she could to lessen the queasiness. She took deep breaths, letting them out slowly and was pleased to note her stomach seemed to settle by the time they reached the Llangon mountains.

Sarek swerved to the left, taking the flitter higher and faster above the mountains, rather than flying alongside them as they usually would. Amanda felt her queasiness return, her motion sickness increasing tenfold as Sarek had to weave around the mountain peaks.

"Sarek, maybe you should slow down."

"I am attempting to make up time, aduna. No one travels above the mountains, and we will have to cross eventually anyway."

Amanda tried looking ahead, then to her side, but no matter which way she looked she could not escape the sight of the mountains whizzing past her at a terrific speed. She took a deep breath, then released it, then took another, closing her eyes in another attempt to end the nausea, but this only made the weaving more exaggerated. "Sarek, please... "

Sarek noticed the strain in her voice and glanced at her. "What is it?"

"I'm going to be sick." Amanda covered her mouth with her hand, the other cradling her stomach.

Immediately, Sarek reduced the flitter's speed and headed back to the desert floor. A quick check of the flitter's navigation unit showed a small watering hole nearby. "There is water two point six flight minutes ahead, can you make it?"

Wordlessly, Amanda nodded, bending over to apply more pressure to her rolling stomach.

Sarek pressed the control to lower her window as well – just in case.

"Mommy?"

"Your mother is not feeling well," Sarek answered for Amanda and glanced over at her ashen face.

"Mommy," Spock said again and Sarek's head snapped around to him when he heard the clicking sound of the seatbelt release mechanism.

"Stay seated," Sarek said in a sharp voice but Spock only hesitated for a second and then climbed out of the seat.

"Mommy sick," he said and tried to crawl into the front of the flitter. Sarek quickly glanced at the terrain ahead and moved the flitter down further while he reached back with one hand and tried to hold Spock back; but what he grabbed was not the toddler, but the snout of the sehlat who seemed to want to be part of the commotion too. "I'Chaya, sit!" Sarek bellowed while he felt Spock crawling between Amanda's seat and his arm.

A quick glance at Amanda told him she was not doing well. Her throat looked as if it was constricting and Sarek knew what was to happen. 'At least the windows are open,' he thought and for a brief instant, he seemed to gain back control of the situation when his hand finally grasped Spock.

Out of balance, Spock put a foot on the middle console and for a moment Sarek was too startled to react in time when he saw the windows starting to close since Spock had accidentally activated the window control. Quickly he tried to reach for the switch without releasing his son, but it was too late.

Amanda leaned over in her seat and attempted to empty the contents of her stomach outside the flitter. The windows were closing fast, however, and closed before she was done. When she was finally down to dry heaves only, she opened her eyes and saw to her horror that half of the contents of her stomach had remained inside the flitter and flowed down the window and the side of her door. "Oh no," she croaked and looked at Sarek.

He still held Spock with one hand but stared ahead, only the twitching jaw muscle indicating his thoughts.

"I'm so sorry," she said and searched for the button to lower the windows since an unpleasant odor filled the flitter cabin.

"Do not," Sarek said, "If the window slides down the... liquid will only seep further into the door's interior."

"I'm sorry," she said again. "I couldn't hold it anymore."

Sarek looked at her and Amanda was relieved to see the sudden change from irritation to softness and compassion in his eyes. "Are you feeling better?" he asked.

Amanda nodded sheepishly. "Yes, I am."

Spock wiggled between them, still securely in Sarek's grip. "Mommy?" he asked again and Amanda tried to smile despite her misery upon seeing his big brown eyes so full of worry for her.

"Here, let me take him," she said to Sarek and took Spock when he released him. Careful to keep him away from the remains of her sickness she settled him on her lap. "Mommy's better now," she said.

Spock looked from his mother's pale face to the smelly, chunky mess lining the door and her robes. His face screwed up in disgust, "Yucky."

"Yes, baby. It's yucky. My stomach is upset with me," she explained and rubbed her belly.

"Baby?" Spock asked and poked a finger carefully into her abdomen.

Amanda smiled lovingly. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Sarek's gaze snap towards her and suppressed the urge to let the smile intensify into a grin. Just a few days ago, they had been visiting Sarek's brother Silek, and his wife T'Leia, when Silek had announced they were expecting. This had prompted some questions from Spock, and based on Amanda's description of her own pregnancy Spock must have leapt to the same conclusion for her current illness.

"No, honey, there's no baby in there... yet." She glanced up at Sarek, who again caught her eye. He afforded her one of his rare smiles, his thoughts no doubt on the possibility of achieving another conception during his next Time to, hopefully, turn into a successful pregnancy with the help of the geneticists.

"Uh-huh," Spock said and leaned against her, unaware of the silent exchange between his parents.

As Sarek had promised, they reached an oasis two flight minutes later and Sarek landed the flitter gingerly.

Amanda opened the door and set Spock outside. Following him, she flipped her seat forward and loosened the restraint that held I'Chaya in the vehicle, but instead of getting out of the flitter and running behind his young master the sehlat remained standing half inside the flitter and sniffed at the sticky mess that still clung to the door, his intentions unmistakable.

"Ugh! I'Chaya, stop it," Amanda said and grabbed the sehlat's neckband to pull him out of the vehicle. "I tell you I'm sure they bred a pig somewhere back in your ancestry," she muttered and led the sehlat a few feet away from the vehicle. "Sit," she ordered and the animal obeyed.

Meanwhile Sarek rounded the vehicle and came to stand beside the door to inspect the 'damage'.

Amanda looked briefly for Spock. "Don't go into the water, Spock, you hear?" she called and turned back to Sarek when Spock nodded and bent to pick up something from the ground.

"How bad is it?" she said and approached Sarek.

"I will need to take the door apart to clean out the interior once we have arrived. The remainder can easily be wiped away with some water," he answered.

"Okay, I'll get some cleaning pads," Amanda said and walked to the back of the flitter, reaching beneath their bags to find the gear Sarek kept in his flitter. Sarek bent forward to see if some of the vomit had entered the air circulation unit, fortunately, it appeared none had.

"Here," Amanda handed some cloths to Sarek to work on the flitter while she took a few to wipe at her robes, but it was useless. "It won't come clean," she muttered angrily, catching Sarek's attention.

"Take it off," Sarek instructed. "We can clean it at the water hole then put it away until we get to my parents' home. It did not reach your pants or tunic, did it?"

"No," Amanda answered, heading towards the water as she slipped off her robe. She squatted down and began scrubbing her robe under the water. "Can I drink this?" she yelled back at Sarek.

"No," he called back.

"I want to rinse my mouth...is there any drink in the flitter?"

Sarek stood and retrieved something from the back of the flitter then approached his wife. "Give me a moment to put some water through the filter then you can drink it." He pieced his filtering canister together then bent down, filling the top portion. He set the device down next to Amanda. "Wait until the water goes through the filter and into the bottom canister. Then you may use the water from the bottom only," he warned. Satisfied she understood, he dipped some of his cloths into the water then returned to attend to his flitter.

Satisfied that her robe was as good as it would get, Amanda stood up to stretch, instinctively looking for her son. "Spock, no!" she yelled as she spotted him about twenty feet away, at the water's edge, his pants completely removed as he also attempted to clean his clothes in the water. Unfortunately, his area was more mud than water, and his pants were completely caked.

"Okay, Mommy," Spock assured her. "It clean."

Amanda looked over at Sarek, who was looking around the flitter door to see what the commotion was. He looked at their son then looked at her, his lips pressed tightly together. With a shake of his head, he disappeared back behind the door. Apparently, she was to be given the pleasure of cleaning their son all to herself.

"Come here, boy," Amanda called to him. She took his pants, holding them out at arms length. "Don't move!" she ordered then set to the task of scrubbing them off under the water. She managed to remove most of the mud, but his pants were far from what anyone could define as "clean". Noticing that the water was done filtering, Amanda took several swigs, gargling quickly then spitting it back out. She used the leftover water to clean Spock's face and hands then sent him back to the flitter.

Amanda refilled the filter canister then folded up her robe and Spock's pants. She placed the latter in the cargo area then set the canister atop the flitter while she bent over to inspect Sarek's work. "How's it coming?"

"As good as it will be for now," Sarek answered, straightening. He collected the used cloths and walked some distance away, setting them down then pulling out a lighter to ignite the pile. He waited until the fire had almost completely died out then covered the remaining embers with sand, extinguishing any remaining fire.

Meanwhile, Amanda struggled with putting an over-heated sehlat and a half-naked child back into the small rear section of the flitter.

"Move over, I'Chaya!" Sarek overheard Amanda muttering to the giant beast as she tried to make room for Spock. Sarek went around to the driver's side, reaching in to grasp I'Chaya's collar and tugging the beast his way. "Come, I'Chaya. Move over."

The sehlat did so, reluctantly, giving his master a big, sloppy lick to the back of the head when he sat in the driver's seat.

Amanda got into her seat, laughing as she noticed Sarek wiping off the back of his head... again.

"Ready?" Sarek asked, firing up the flitter's engine.

"Yes," Amanda sighed heavily, growing very tired, and wondering how she would manage a pilgrimage after the day they've had. The flitter began to lift when suddenly Amanda remembered the water. "Wait!" she yelled, making every head in the flitter turn her way.

Sarek quickly put the flitter back down as Amanda opened the door and hopped out. She was gone only a second then climbed back in, his water canister in hand. Sarek stared at her, her cheeks red in embarrassment, knowing she was intentionally refusing to return his gaze. He continued to stare, refusing to move, until she finally had to look in his direction. "We hadn't taken off yet, at least," she defensively, to which Sarek merely raised a brow and turned back to his driving.

Amanda leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes. "You know what? Maybe we shouldn't go on the pilgrimage today. With our luck we'll be swallowed up by quicksand."

"If you are not feeling well enough for the trip, Amanda... " he started but Amanda held up a hand.

"No, I'll be fine."

"But vomiting is very straining for the human body. The act causes the loss of fluid and blood electrolytes," Sarek argued.

"I know. I promise I'll drink sufficiently once we arrive and ask your mother for salt pills. I'm sure she has some left over from my last stay," she said and then chuckled. Your mother must think I'm all made up of a queasy stomach when I come to visit them. Do you remember the last time when we visited I was pregnant with Spock and... "

"Yes, I remember *where* your controls faded," Sarek said pointedly.

"Hey, I can't help it that I tripped over I'Chaya on the way to the bathroom," Amanda defended herself.

"Your innocence did not save the potted plants on my mother's terrace from dying from the acid in your gastric fluids," Sarek replied dryly.

"Ha ha, very funny," Amanda answered. She glanced at the backseat again. "The furry pig tried to eat my vomit back then too... " The comment earned her a reproachful gaze from Sarek but she shrugged. "Well, isn't that disgusting?"

"I'Chaya does seem to have some... peculiar interests when it comes to you," Sarek teased.

Amanda hesitated just a moment to fire back her reply. "Not only I'Chaya," she said and winked at her husband.

Sarek turned his head away to hide the twitch of his lips that were about to be tugged into a smile.

Amanda leaned back and lifted a hand to her mouth. Instantly Sarek's gaze was back on her again and he reached for the altitude lever. "Again?" he asked.

Amanda laughed half in the process of a yawn. "No, don't worry. I think I'll just take a nap until we arrive." Her hair touched the head rest behind her and it seemed as if she had just closed her eyes when a slight vibration ran through the flitter. When she opened her eyes, she had to blink twice to believe the sight outside that showed Sarek's clan estate deep in the Ken'Tal desert. "Are we there already?" she asked and looked wearily at Sarek, then at the backseat. She smiled when she saw Spock's head leaned against the headrest of his seat, his dark lashes touching his cheeks while he slept.

"Yes, we have arrived. You have slept two point one hours," Sarek confirmed.

"Doesn't feel like it," she commented, and then jumped when pain shot through her while she turned her head back forward. "Except my neck." She rubbed the stiff muscles.

As they landed, Skon and T'Lara came out of the estate to meet them. "We were about to leave without you," Skon gently chided his eldest child.

"Forgive us, Father. We experienced some... unforeseen circumstances, which also forced us to make an inconvenient choice of transportation," Sarek said and gestured at the over-packed flitter.

"Where is my sa'fu'al?" T'Lara asked, leaning into Amanda's opened door to look into the back seat. Quickly the elder woman jumped back, her hand covering her nose demurely.

"We... uh... it's not been a pleasant trip," Amanda informed her to which her mother-in-law nodded in agreement.

"Indeed," she murmured.

Amanda stepped out of the flitter, flipping her seat forward and unbuckling Spock from his safety seat. She pulled him out and immediately turned him over to T'Lara, who held the child at arms' length, her eyes roaming over his bare legs and feet. She looked questioningly at Amanda, noting the lack of a travel robe. "A really unpleasant trip," Amanda stressed.

The toddler woke up when being moved and began to whine. Amanda looked briefly at T'Lara, but the Vulcan woman just nodded and wordlessly held the child closer to her. Spock laid his head wearily on her shoulder and was directly asleep again.

"Perhaps you could assist your mother in getting Spock cleaned up," Skon addressed Sarek, removing the child's bag from the rear of the flitter. He handed the bag to his son and Sarek and T'Lara set off towards the house.

Amanda leaned against the side of the flitter.

"Are you feeling well, Daughter?" Skon asked.

Amanda smiled wearily. "I'm not sure. My stomach is better but I'm still tired."

Skon nodded and took the remaining bags out of the flitter. He gave I'Chaya a stroke over the head when the sehlat nudged his side. The animal had by now left the flitter too and came to greet his old master.

Skon picked up the bags while Amanda closed the flitter's doors. "You will, of course, rest before we leave, Amanda. However, if you do not feel strong enough after that you may remain at the house," he said.

"But this pilgrimage is important," Amanda argued, "Your clan is of Surak's lineage. The family's presence is expected today."

"True," he affirmed as they headed up the walk to the house, "but while the pilgrimage is a tradition, is it not essential. There are worse offenses than missing the pilgrimage." He glanced at his daughter-by-marriage, his eyes twinkling with humor, "like becoming ill in one's prized zel'tulia plant."

"I always add icing to the cake, don't I?" Amanda said and winked at Skon.

Skon nodded thoughtfully remembering the expression from his time spent as ambassador on Terra. "Our lives have certainly been more... interesting since you arrived," he agreed with a warm glint in his eyes.

They entered the house to prepare for the pilgrimage, both hoping the remainder of the day would be better than how it started.

THE END

EPILOGUE:

Later that day, somewhere in the Ken'Tal desert ...

"Oh, Sarek, no! I told you this rock was slippery . "


End file.
